Apple's new relationship with China Mobile Ltd seemed to have paid off, as the company reported higher-than-expected growth in China.

According to a recent report from Reuters, Apple's latest quarterly results showed that its device sales in China were nearly twice the growth expected. Third-quarter revenue was boosted thanks to iPhone sales jumping nearly 50 percent in April-June.

"China, honestly, was surprising to us ... we thought it would be strong, but it went well past what we thought. The unit growth was really off the charts across the board," said Apple CEO Tim Cook.

A helping hand for Apple was the rollout of 4G wireless networks in China. China Mobile's number of 4G subscribers rose from just 1.3 million at the end of February to nearly 14 million in June.

The introduction of 4G likely pushed China's mobile users to let go of old phones and upgrade, and with the iPhone 5C and 5S recently introduced via China Mobile, the timing was great for Apple.

Apple scored the China Mobile deal back in December 2013. This was a huge win, considering China Mobile is the world's largest wireless carrier.

Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook (R) and China Mobile’s Chairman Xi Guohua (L)

China Mobile started offering the iPhone 5C and iPhone 5S on January 17, 2014. Over 1 million iPhone 5S' were shipped to China ahead of the big launch.

At that time, Reuters reported that Samsung could see a slower 2014 as far as smartphone sales go due to Apple's new deal with China Mobile. Analysts forecast that Samsung's mobile devices business will either grow by a single digit or to "shrink mildly" in 2014.

As it turns out, that prediction was mostly correct. Samsung warned this month that quarterly earnings could drop 25 percent due to weaker demand for 3G products in China and excessive inventory of cheaper phones.

The report added that Samsung's broad offerings to hit every price point might have put it in an awkward position between being price competitive and also a premium gadget company.

Apple, on the other hand, has held on to its high-priced iPhones and iPads only.

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